Run Away
by The Dark Crimson Blood
Summary: Luffy never wanted to run, but she does it anyway. AU, Fem!Luffy, Eventual ZoLu (MAYBE)
1. Chapter 1

**Title: Run Away  
Genre:** Hurt/comfort/Family **  
Characters:** Ace, Sabo, Luffy, Zoro etc.  
 **Summary** : Luffy never wanted to run, but she does it anyway.  
 **Author:** The Dark Crimson Blood  
 **Count:** 1,982

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Luffy's been on the run for awhile now.

It's not necessarily her fault, it's not anything that she ever wanted to do in the first place, and it's definitely something she would've tried to prevent if she had the chance. It wasn't everyday that your family gets ripped apart and shoved in all different directions; to this day she wonders if it was ever really a family in the first place.

Her parents had abandoned her the day she was born.

They tried to get an abortion; they tried to burn her out and killed her with a saline solution but she'd survived and made their lives more difficult than they ever could've imagined.

It wasn't a surprise that they decided to put her up for adotption ont he day she was born; signing away her life and discarding her as though she were nothing more than an unwanted mark or blemish on their perfect record.

Luffy doesn't think about it like that though.

Instead she thinks that she's lucky. Her parents brought her into this world and allowed her to try and see all different kinds of things; she lives in an orpahange now, but it's not as though she's unhappy with her situation.

She's got two brothers.

They're not blood related and they live alongisde a bigger group of other children but out of everyone else there, Luffy feels closest to them. Their makeshift brotherhood was the closest thing to an actual family that they could get; they made it work.

Their bond was bigger than anything else.

Sabo was the oldest. His parents put him up for adoption after their business went under and they were forced into a life of poverty; but he wasn't close to them at all, so it was a situation he was better away from.

Luffy thinks of the sun when she sees him; his bright blue eyes look like the ocean and his hair is the sun gleaming above it. He liked to start the day by kissing her cheek and brushing her hair, something she never did on her own.

She was heartbroken when he left.

They called it being adopted. They took him off to a new home with parents and maybe a sibling or two; maybe he'd have his own room and a family pet to take care of, and a hot meal on the table every day.

She wonders why they can't just all get adopted together. It doesn't seem fair but life's not fair either, Luffy knows that better than anyone. Sabo had only been thirteen years old and he was going to get moved to a different orphanage anyway, but that doesn't change the fact that he's gone now.

Sometimes he sends a letter, other times he calls them to let them know that he's doing okay; that he's happy and that he hopes they are too. The three of them make promises to meet up one day in the future and Luffy feel happy to think that one day, they'll all be together again.

Her second big brother is Ace.

He's a bit more upset with the fact than Sabo is gone compared to her; the two of them have known each other the longest, and probably understood each other more than Luffy did. Luffy likes to think that it's because they both had families before this; they knew what life was like outside the orphanage, Luffy didn't.

Sabo gets angry when he talks about the way his family used to put him on a pedastool and treat others like trash, he seems happy that he doesn't have to put up with it anymore.

Ace looks sad whenever he thinks about his parents.

He doesn't talk about them much but awhile ago he mentioned that his father died before he was born, and his mother died when he was five. Luffy knows that he loved her a lot because his eyebrows furrow and the smile on his face is warm, but painfully sad.

With Sabo gone, Ace is Luffy's lifeline.

Somehow Luffy is Ace's lifeline too.

It's like that for awhile. They were attatched at the hip; sharing every little bit of information that the other might've missed out on, and even skipping school classes just to stick together.

Most of the time no one seems to care about how she would sneak into the boy's room every night just to leep by her side, how she would sit in his lap for comfort, or how she would hold his hand everywhere she went.

People would get jealous and whisper behind their back; they'd get teased and laughed at but neither of them cared.

They were just happy.

Luffy was happy.

Until Ace was gone too.

He's thirteen when they take him away; Luffy is just shy a couple months of her tenth birthday.

She'd woken up in an empty bed with the lingering smell of her big brother but nothing more, everything else was gone.

He was gone.

At first she wasn't sure what to do or how to react; she'd been living in this orphanage for her whole life and the boys had taken her in when she was just three years old. In her mind they were family; Sabo was like the mommy and Ace was the daddy, but now they were both gone.

She was alone and it didn't feel right at all.

The other children are quick to turn on her without her big brothers to protect her. They're not afraid of the beatings Ace liked to dish out whenever someone got too close, or the backlash that came when someone messed with Sabo. They tease her and laugh about her and make fun of her and it doesn't bother her at all; she's strong. She holds her head up high and ignores them all.

The like to call her annoying. They say that her voice is too high pitched, that her laugh gives them headaches, that her face is annoying, and that her smile is ugly. No one steps up for her because they're too scared too; Luffy decides to ignore them all.

She doesn't talk to people anymore.

It's fine.

Luffy's okay with being just fine for now. They can talk behind her back and shove her around all they want and she'll be just fine.

Just. Fine.

Then someone says that she's been abandoned.

Someone says that her brothers abandoned her for something, someone better.

They call her a nuciense that they were happy to get rid of.

She believes them.

They hurt her so she wants to hurt them back.

No one cares enough to help her.

No one cares enough to stop.

Suddenly she's getting into fights with other kids and about ninety nine percent of the time she gets her ass handed to her.

But she gets up.

Again, and again, and again, and again.

They knock her down but she never stops getting up.

She's ten years old when she starts running. (Ace and Sabo are thirteen and fourteen now, she likes to pretend she doesn't know when their birthdays are anymore but she nows.)

Running from her emotions, from her past, from the two teenage boys who keep trying to contact the orphanage in some sort of messed up attempt to talk to her. She doesn't understand why; they left her behind, after all. Wasn't that enough? What else could they possibly want that they haven't taken away from her already?

Luffy decides that she doesn't want to find out, so she never answers the phone.

She doesn't read the letters they've been sending her either.

It takes another year for her to be adopted. It's not a real home quite yet but it's a foster home; a temporary home that's supposed to be similar to an actual family. On the outside the couple is loving and happy and cheerful and for the first time in a long time, Luffy feels excited.

Is this what Ace and Sabo felt when they were taken home?

Is this really why they haven't come back?

Did ten minutes of bliss outweigh the fact that they left her behind?

The switch flips the second they walk through the door and they turn on her.

They're not smiling anymore.

Instead they're yelling and barking ordes; raising their voices at her if she even dares to breath wrong. It's a bit strange; Luffy's not entirely sure what a family is supposed to feel like, but somehow this doesn't feel right.

They like to put her down a lot.

Constantly.

They talk about money and the possibility of taking in another child and getting paid for two kids instead of just one; they don't even try to hide the fact that they adopted her for money. They're getting paid to put up with her.

It doesn't take Luffy long to understand why they adopted her.

She doesn't want to be with them anymore. She misbehaves on purpose and makes messes and ignores their word; they yell and beat and curse her out but in the end they prove to be no match for her misbehavior.

It's not long before she's moved into another family.

This one locks her into a room all day and tells her not to leave. She's never had a problem with small, dark spaces before but now the idea of getting locked in the closet is enough to make her shake.

The third home is the last one.

They welcome her with open arms and warm smiles but on the inside, Luffy knows that they're not any different from the rest. Sooner or later they'll want nothing to do with her and they'll get rid of her just like everyone else did.

Everyone leaves her eventually.

Her parents who tried to kill before she was even born, her brothers who managed to pretened that they loved her for eight years, her foster families who never wanted her around in the first place, and even the stray cat that used to visit her were all gone because of her.

There had to be something wrong with her.

The forth home is cramped and crowded. There are six other children who all stay in the same room; they fight for food and room and space, Luffy doesn't mind fighting back. They're all skinny and dirty and bruised, and a bit older than her but they seem to have already resigned themselvs to whatever fate this was supposed to be.

Luffy doesn't agree with them.

One day twelve year old Luffy decides that this whole foster care thing isn't for her, and then jumps out the window alongside a boy with bright green hair and not a single sense of direction in his body. Neither of them have any idea where they're going, let alone where they'll end up but that's okay.

After all, you can't start an adventure without getting lost first.

 **Sabo16/Ace15/Luffy12/Zoro17**

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 **A/N: Let me know what you guys think, I don't now if I should stop here or not and just leave it as a one shot.**

 **Hope you enjoyed it.**

 _ **~Crimson Blood**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Title: Run Away  
Genre:** Hurt/comfort/Family **  
Characters:** Ace, Sabo, Luffy, Zoro etc.  
 **Summary** : Luffy never wanted to run, but she does it anyway.  
 **Author:** The Dark Crimson Blood

 **Count: 2,988  
**

* * *

 **Sabo20/Ace19/Luffy16/Zoro21**

"You don't remember me, do you?"

Ace cocks his head at the sight of the girl who stood in front of him; she looked young, but at the same time her face didn't have the round features that a child usually has. His lips curve downwards in thought; no matter how hard he thinks he can't remember this kid at all.

Maybe she has the wrong person? "I think you have the wrong person, kid."

Her lips purse slightly but he seems determine; eyes narrowing slightly for a moment before fixating on the blond to his side. "You're Ace," She points a finger towards the boy with the freckles all over his face, and then moves it steadily towards the blond. "And you're Sabo, aren't you?"

Sabo looks to be just as shocked as Ace is; the both of them had just moved into town, it should've been impossible that anyone knew them at all. "How do you know who we are?" Ace asks; his tone wavers, he crosses his arms over his chest as Sabo takes a step back.

The thin girl just shrugs his shoulders, the black hoodie makes her seem three times bigger than she actually is. The hood is down; they can see her whole face and yet they still don't recgonize her. "I just don't forget people." She doesn't leave them behind either; but they were never around long enough to find that out about her.

"What's your name?" The blond offers as he bends down a bit to make eye level; a gesture that would've otherwise seemed kind, had it not been for the situation they're in. He'd always been the peacemaker, after all. She remembers that much. "You already know ours, so let's hear yours."

Her face looks blank in a way that could be considered anything other than natural. "You don't even know my name anymore?" She sounds hurt, and a little shocked. In a blink of an eye every emotion, every tell, and every insecurity was pushed behind a well guarded mask without hesitation. "That's fine."

She takes a step back, Ace takes a step forward, and Sabo grabs his arm.

"It was good to see you." She lies through her teeth and turns to run.

Neither of them try to stop her.

Ace and Sabo look to be equally confused.

"That was kinda weird wasn't it?" Sabo prompts as he taps his friend on the shoulder, pulling his attention away from the spot that kid was standing just a couple seconds ago. "Are you okay?"

Ace shakes his head. "I'm fine, sorry. That was really weird."

"Let's just go buy takeout somewhere and head back; what you want?"

"Wings."

...

"Welcome home."

"Thanks Zoro." The young teen kicks off her shoes by the door and neatly positions them next to the other pairs; she cracks her neck both sides and continues into the living room. It's not the biggest apartment; but it's home and that's all that matters. That's all that will ever matter.

A young man with green hair watches from the couch as the disheartened teen makes her way into the room; her shoulders have drooped and she looks much more tired than she usually is. "Why are you in such a bad mood?"

The fifteen year old huffs slightly as she drops herself onto the couch; she doesn't hesitate to lean her head against her best friend's shoulder. "I dunno, just am." She repsonds quietly; her body relaxes further into the couch, she lets her head roll back slightly.

"Well what do you think it is?" The green haired teen doesn't tear his eyes off of the television, but instead takes his one free arm and wraps it around his friend's thin shoulders. "You should tell me, Luffy."

The girl, Luffy, gives another heavy sigh and seems to further bury herself further into her best freind's embrace. "I bumped into Ace and Sabo today; they didn't remember me at all."

Zoro's eyes narrow just slightly; he's heard those names plenty of times before. Most of the time they're discussed after nightmares or days when Luffy was anything but okay, but today she seemed to be handling things fine. "It's been awhile since you last saw them, hasn't it?"

"Yeah. I was seven when they left, almost eight. It's been six and a half years, but I don't think I changed that much." He's skinnier than ever; his hair doesn't quite cover his eyes anymore but it's still messy, maybe it's the fact that he's grown. Maybe it's because he has scars and scrapes that were never there before; hell, even his ears are pierced. "Maybe I did."

"Are you okay with that?"

Shrugging her small shoulders, Luffy places a hand on the back of her neck. "Yeah, I think so. It's better that way isn't it? I never thought I'd run into them agan in the first place."

"Do you hate them?"

She shakes her head; her shoulders tremble a bit as she burires her face into Zoro's chest, almost as though she was hiding himself until she could calm down. "Of course not, they used to be my brothers."

Zoro tightens his grip as he's reminded what made Luffy such a special person; he could never be so forgiving towards people who hurt him that much. "You were just happy that they were okay, weren't you?" She nods; Zoro knows for a fact that he doesn't feel the same way.

He'd have to be a little better with protecting Luffy

Especially if he wanted to avoid the return of person she used to be after foster care.

Zoro never wanted to see that again.

"If I had to run, what would you do?"

Zoro looks to Luffy as if she already knows the answer and she does; it never changes, no matter how many times this kid asks him. "I'd follow you, but where would you go?"

"I don't know."

Her phone vibrates in his pocket and both of them frown; the only messages she ever gets are from the group chat with their friends, from Zoro, or from the foster parents he was supposde to be living with.

Considering Zoro was right next to her, and that his phone hadn't gone off at all, there's only one option left. "Do you need a ride?"

Luffy huffs, scrolling through her texts and finding exactly what she was looking for. "No, I'm going by myself."

Zoro doesn't want to let her go alone.

She's always getting into trouble; it follows her like a magnet and never seems to want to let her go. Zoro wants to go with her; but if she's decided that she wants to do something and do it a certian way, then she's the type of perrson to get it done her way no matter what.

"See you later, Zoro."

She doesn't like goodbye.

Goodbye's are forever.

"Text me if you need anything."

"Yup!"

The door closes.

She's gone, but she'll be back.

She'll be back.

...

"DUCK!"

There's barely enough time to get down as a bullet comes flying over her head, just a couple inches away from finding a new home in her head. The man she's running with grabs her arm, and yanks her into yet another alleway. Luffy nearly stumbles over her own two feet.

With more and more adreanline pumping through her veins, exhaustion and pain don't seem to exist anymore. Her knee is still scraped from the last sharp turn they made, but that's the least of her worries right now.

Another bullet flies by and grazes her bare shoulder. Luffy doesn't even stop to think about it, let alone briefly run her eyes over the injury to asess the damage. "Don't slow down!" The man beside her yells.

He's losing blood from an injury hidden underneath his shirt, depending on how much longer this went on for there might be a problem.

Already, he's showing signs of fatigue.

Out of reflex, Luffy shoves him through the first broken window she sees and doesn't wait for him before turning completely around and running in the opposite direction. The shock from being shoved through a window and the pain from landing on whatever injuries he'd collected, should be enough to keep him down for a minute or two.

That was all the time she needed to give him a chance to escape.

He'd have plenty of time, she thinks to herself as she makes an obvious left turn to catch the attention of the man chasing her. It works. He curses underneath his breath while aiming his gun at her head once more. "You can't keep running forever kid!"

True. Luffy would've been worried if all she had planned was running away; of course, that was the end goal. After a couple more twists and turns, she finaly comes to a stop and slams her back against the wall.

The second he turns the corner, she tackles him to the ground and steals the gun right out of his hands. Quickly dropping the magazine and clearing the chamber, she launches the gun as far away from them as possible.

If she hadn't gotten the jump on him, things wouldn't have gone as smoothly. "You little bitch..!" The man swears right after she breaks his nose, with her foot.

He stumbles but refuses to fall. With an enemy that much bigger than her who could possibly be carrying hidden weapons, taking him on any longer would be suicide.

But what if he went looking for that other guy? He saved her from getting shot; she had a debt to pay back, and the idea of leaving anyone alone would never sit right with her.

She clenches her fists

He pulls out a knife.

Someone stands behind Luffy and shoots.

It's the man she was running away with earlier; he drops the empty handgun and grabs her arm. His grip is much tighter than what it was before. "Don't you dare run off by yourself again, let's go!"

They run, but this time there's no one chasing them.

...

oOo

"Are you alright?"

Luffy treated his wounds already. The bullet that had lodged itself in his ribcage was enough trouble, but the long drawn out slalsh wound over his lower stomach had been an even bigger problem. To say that she didn't pay attention all of those times Chopper treated her, or her crew would be a lie.

She's learned a lot, actually.

Enough to at least pretreat his wounds before Chopper could make it over and finish with the more difficult ones; at the very least, she managed to keep him alive.

In the end, that's all that matters.

The man stares back at her with a very unamused expression on his face; he's been awake for nearly ten minutes and all he wants to do is go back to sleep. His surroundings aren't familar at all; the stress of waking up in some random place was enough to keep him awake.

"Do you want water? Are you hungry? I'm always hungry. Do you know what the best thing to eat is when you're hungry? Meat! Meat's the best thing in the world, I bet there's some in the refridgerator." Right now all he wants is this strange girl to be quiet.

A young man with messy brown haiir and a kind smile peaks his head into the doorway, only to look absolutely horrified at the situation in front of him.

"Hey Chopper!" Luffy greets with a smile, bouncing up and down on the bed his patient is currently resting on.

"He's hurt, Lucy. You've got to let him rest!"

The man sighs. "I'm fine, there's no chance that I'm going back to sleep until I figure out where I am."

"Well," Luffy hums, putting a finger to her chin in thought. "You passed out the other day, mister. I carried you all the way back to my house nad patched ya up, so you're in my bed right now."

Great. He was sleeping in the bed of a fourteen year old girl who he didn't even know; this didn't look good for him at all. "Then you woke up and now we're here!"

He knew that much already.

Chopper puts a hand on Luffy's shoulder and sucessfully manages to calm her down. "She did a good job taking care of you; it was a bullet wound, it's stuck in your thigh. I reccomend that you visit your doctor to get prescribed a pain medication as well as a saline solution to fight against infection.

"He's a good person," She repeats.

Chopper nods; if Luffy says that he's a good person, then there's no reason to second guess him. "Just what happened? I haven't seen you in weeks and all of a sudden you're calling me over to your house."

"Someone tried to shoot me and he got in the way, so it hit him instead." Why did she make it sound as though it would've been better if it hit her? She couldn't be any older than fourteen and he was a grown man! "Then we had to run away."

Ah yes, the part where she had shoved him through a window and run off to go get herself killed.

That being said; she had managed to get the gun out of the shooter's hands, and had even caught him off guard.

She wasn't an ordinary teenager.

"His name's Mario!"

"Marco!" The blonde corrects loudly.

"Polo!" She jumps to her feet excitedly only to pause and spin around and point at him. "You should be resting! I don't think playing Marco Polo right now is a good idea."

Is she serious?

"His name is Marco, Lucy."

"Oh!" She puts her hands on her hips and looks down at him. "Why didn't you just tell me that?"

He did. "I did."

"Oh."

"Kid, how old are you?"

She stands a bit taller and speaks as though she's proud of how old she is; perhaps she had a recent birthday, or maybe she had one coming up. "I'm sixteen!"

Well, she did seem rather devloped for a fourteen year old.

She's got quite a bit of muscle too.

Marco puts his head back down on the pillow. "I'm gonna go get a snack!" The sixteen year old disappears out the door and leaves the room much quieter than what he would've expected from her.

Chopper pushes himself off of the wall that he'd been previously leaning on. "Thanks for helping her out. She's a reckless little thing and she doesn't really care about what happens to herself, but it means a lot that you saved her."

If anything it's the other way around. "He had his gun aimed at me first; I walked down the wrong alley and things just escalated from there. If she hadn't tried to help then I'm sure I would've had much worse than a bullet wound the thigh."

"Either way, thank you. Feel free to spend the night here or have one of your friends pick you up later."

"Thanks doc."

Chopper closes the door behind him after he leaves.

Luffy has already made herself comfortable in his kitchen; it feels as though he hasn't seen her in months, but it's only been a couple of weeks. She hasn't texted him or showed up at his doorstep with injuries, or plans to drag him out of the house for the day.

For a moment he had been worried that it kept him up at night, and yet here she was; smiling, and eating ice cream on top of his kitchen counter.

She shoves a huge spoonful of ice cream into her mouth and swallows it without chewing. "Do you want some?"

No, the only reason he keeps certian snacks in this apartment is for visitors anyway.

"Can I have a cookie too?"

Visitors with bright brown eyes and a straw hat.

She gesutres towards the small container of iced sugar cookies next to her on the counter, her eyes sparkling as she waits for her response. "Please?"

"Go ahead."

Who was he to say no to Luffy, anyway?

There isn't anything he wouldn't do to keep her happy.

He'd do anything to keep her off of his operating table again.

Sometimes he likes to think about the day he met Luffy. She was a tiny little thing; fourteen years old and dying in her best friends arms. Zoro was nineteen, and had held her tightly enough to turn the tips of his own fingers white.

Up until that day, he's never seen someone so scary look so scared.

All for a life that wasn't his own.

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 **A/N: Thanks for reviewing last chapter, I got excited and had to keep going. Let's see where this story takes us :)**

 **Leave a note :3?**

~ _ **CrimsonBlood**_


	3. Chapter 3

**Title: Run Away  
Genre:** Hurt/comfort/Family **  
Characters:** Ace, Sabo, Luffy, Zoro etc.  
 **Summary** : Luffy never wanted to run, but she does it anyway.  
 **Author:** The Dark Crimson Blood

 **Count: 2,126  
**

* * *

 **...**

Breathe.

Her lips part slightly in anticipation; her hands are raised loosely in front of her as she prepares to defend herself from whatever oncoming attack that might come her way. The hair on the back of her neck stands tall and her opponent does nothing more than smirk at her after he steps into the ring.

Surely, they had to be mistaken.

He was a grown man and she was nothing more than a little girl. This fight would be an easy win for him; heh, it was almost like stealing. The crowd cheers in the background and his confidence seems to grow with every shout. His stride becomes arrogant; he turns his back on her at one point, but she does nothing but watch. Perhaps letting this play out a bit would work in her favor.

"Kick her ass!"

"Knock this bitch out!"

"Break her neck!"

They're loud.

The raven haired girl across the ring from him doesn't seem stirred by the screaming; the crowd wants blood and death and excitement but she's calm and steady. She doesn't look nervous at all. Her fingers twitch from excitement; it doesn't show on her face.

"Poor thing, I guess I don't need this at all." He drops his signature axe and puts his hands up; though he's a lot more stiff than what his opponent is.

He raises an eyebrow, she doesn't move at all. "What? Are you too scared to move?" His lip curl into a lopsided smile; he's looking down on her. That's his first mistake.

He reaches out to put a hand on her shoulder; he's pretending to comfort her but really, he's doing nothing more than mock her. "It's alright, I'll go easy on ya."

That's his second mistake.

Anything you need two hands to hold is too much already.

There's no warning provided when she puts him a wrist lock and doesn't stop turning until he's hunched over and trying to break free. "You'd better let go you little shit!"

She steps out into a wider stance and doesn't hesitate to drop her hips down, push back, and flip him over her shoulder as though he were nothing more than a rag doll.

He lands flat on his back and his head hits the ground; the impact is enough to give him a light concussion. He's startled but that doesn't stop her; she's still got his hand in a tight wrist lock. If she pushes any further then his wrist will snap.

"Fuck!" He's still trying to recover from hitting the ground, it's taking him longer than expected.

She shoots her leg up into the air and pushes it down like an axe, coming down right onto his rib cage and successfully slams it down onto his unsuspecting body. The feeling of her heel coming into contact with his rib cage is glorious; sure, her heel will be bruised tomorrow but today he's going home with a couple cracked ribs that he'll be stuck with for months.

His body is trying to curl in on itself but she's holding his wrist in a way that won't allow him to; he tries to grab her leg with his other free arm but she jumps out of the way and stands behind him.

Making sure to hold onto his wrist, she bends down and speaks directly into his ear. "Forefeet, or your ribs will be the last thing you need to worry about." It's just the matter of breaking his wrist if he tries to fight her, and if that doesn't work she'll go for his elbow and then his shoulder.

Who was the scaredy cat now?

His body goes limp; it's clear that he's given up.

Perhaps now he's learned to never underestimate your opponents. "Maybe keep your axe and you'll do a little better next time."

"Lucy has taken down Axe Hand Morgan in one clean swipe!" The ring leader cheers while the crowd groans; none of them expected a small little thing like her to take down Morgan, they've all lost their bets.

In return, she's won a hefty sum that she'll be happy to take home today.

She shoots a grin towards her best friend; he nods his head in her direction as he makes his way over. There's a sweatshirt in his hands; he slips it over her head and watches her shove her arms through the holes.

"That was a boring match."

Luffy agrees. "Yeah."

"He lost the moment he opened his mouth." He wraps a lazy arm around her shoulders and brings her close; she falls into step beside him as he leads her away from the crowd. "Nami's collecting your prize money."

"Should we wait for her?"

Zoro shakes his head. "Not today. She said to go on without her, she'll bring it over tomorrow."

Nami has always preferred to handle the money herself; it was much easier to count and return without an annoying voice lingering over her shoulder. That, and Luffy paid her a small amount for handling the money for her because she often forgot.

"She's leaving, you know."

Of course she is.

The only reason Luffy ever got the chance to meet her was because she was studying overseas for college for the past four years; now her time was up and she was due back in Germany.

Luffy knows not to blame herself; even though sometimes she really wants to. The small circle of friends that she'd made and forced affection upon were all special to her; they were family, and with Nami leaving it was as though she were losing a big sister.

She says that she'll keep in touch; that she'll send letters, emails, voicemail, and call them as often as she can. Luffy and Nami settle on a pinky promise, because that's the only thing she trusts nowadays.

Luffy believes her.

Even if one day the rest of her friends are separated from her as well; it will never change the fact that they'll always be family. The tattoos on their left shoulders were permanent proof of this; an indestructible bond that can never be broken.

All in the form of a pirate skull with crossbones, and of course, a straw hat on top.

Luffy takes a moment to touch her left shoulder before turning to Zoro, tilting her head up slightly to see him properly. "Let's go home."

Robin's been meaning to help her catch up on her homework anyway.

"Aye Aye, Captian."

...

"She was fighting."

Sabo cocks his head to the side as he watchs Ace enter their apartment; he seems a lot more animated than usual. Earlier he said that he was going to meet up with Marco; it was strange that he decided to return home so early.

"She was fighting!" Ace repeats, a bit louder than before. He drops down onto the seat across from Sabo, who pauses whatever television show he happened to be watching. "They had a whole ring set up in one of the abandoned buildings past town; she was fighting against some guy who brought an axe into the ring."

What.

First of all, who was Ace talking about? "Who was fighting, and had an axe?"

"Don't you remember the weird girl we met two weeks ago?" He pauses as Sabo looks up to remember just what she looked like; raven hair, skinny little thing, and a bit short.

Sabo shoots Ace a disbelieving look. "She was fighting?"

"Yeah!" That kid definately didn't seem like the type to get into street fights. "Against some guy who called himself 'Axe Hand Morgan.' He was huge, Sabo. Probably about six feet tall and at least two hundred pounds; she flipped him over her shoulder and I think she broke his ribs too."

It was hard to believe, but Ace had no reason to lie to him about it. The fact that he was so excited about this was proof enough. "Did you get her name?"

"She went off with some guy but the crowd called her 'Straw Hat Lucy."

Lu..cy.

"What do you think Lucy might be short for?"

"Lucianne." Sabo answers automatically.

If that's even her real name, of course. "It was really crowded, I only managed to get one picture." He holds his phone out for Sabo to see; in the picture the referee is holding up Lucy's small arm as Morgan lies on the ground, defeated.

"She's practically naked." Sabo points out; she's not wearing much at all. A bright red sports bra accompinied by black shorts that cling to her curves, probably to prevent her opponents from grabbing her. Aside from that she wears black pads to cover her knees and elbows, as well as a pair of white gloves and white sneakers. "She really did win, huh?"

"Yeah."

"She's not even smiling."

Sabo shrugs. "Maybe she doesn't like to fight?"

"Then why does she do it?"

"Sometimes people have to do things they don't want to do."

"Like how we both left Luffy."

Sabo nods. "Like how we both left Luffy."

Yet that doesn't mean that they'll ever stop looking.

"Is that Lucy?" A slightly older man looks over the shoulder of the youngest brother; the picture of her at the end of her match is still up on his screen. "Where'd you see her at?"

It's Marco. He straightens his posture and drops himself onto his favorite seat and leans back; the apartment key in his hand is thrown gently onto the table.

Sabo raises an eyebrow. "How do you know who Lucy is?"

"That, and where have you been for the past week?"

Marco puts a hand on his stomach; the lower right side of his ribcage where a bullet had lodged it's way into him. "I walked down the wrong alley and got shot; probably would've died if she hadn't tried to use herself as bait to save me. Kid's crazy."

"You got shot?" Ace stands up fast and Sabo does too, both staring down at their friend with equally worried expressions. "Who did it?"

"I don't fucking know but he was gunning for Lucy, I just happened to be in the way."

Sabo doesn't look surprised. "Somehow she seems like the type to get in trouble a lot."

Ace agrees. "She's the fighting type, that's for sure. I've never seen such a tiny lady take down an armed opponent as fast as she did; that, and somehow she managed to drag my ass all the way to her doctor."

"She fought today too, some guy called Axe Hand Morgan."

"I saw the picture," Marco gestures towards Ace's phone. "She's pretty curvy for sixteen, and I don't just mean her muscles."

The glare Ace shoots Marco is brief but terrifying; he's not sure why he doesn't like Marco talking about some girl he doesn't even know, but it bothers him. Sabo's eyes shift to the side as well, clearly indicating that he doesn't favor their friend's wording either.

"We should thank her next time we see her." Sabo interupts as he sits back down; sucessfully changing the conversaton before Ace snap. "I'll have a look at whatever patchwork she did on you later."

Marco knows better than to say no to Sabo. "Sure,"

Ace decides that he doesn't want to talk about it anymore.

He doesn't want to think about her anymore.

Neither does Sabo.

It goes unspoken.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey.**

 **Q/A: Q:** Why doesn't Luffy's brothers recognize her? **A:** Compared to when she was ten, Luffy looks very different. Her long hair is now incredibly short, she has tattoos and piercings, she's got scars, and lives far away from the orphanage she originally lived at. In short? She was a kid when they left, now she's an adult now.

 **Q/A: Q:** What about the scar underneath Luffy's eye? **A:** She was completely scar free during her time with Sabo and Ace.

 **Please leave a review, help me motivate myself :)**

 **Thank you for your continued support.**

 **~CrimsonBlood**

~ _ **CrimsonBlood**_


	4. Chapter 4

**Title: Run Away  
Genre:** Hurt/comfort/Family **  
Characters:** Ace, Sabo, Luffy, Zoro etc.  
 **Summary** : Luffy never wanted to run, but she does it anyway.  
 **Author:** The Dark Crimson Blood

 **Count: 2,587  
**

* * *

"Luffy!"

Ace's body jerks him awake and the cold chill that runs through him forces him to sit up straight; the blanket falls and exposes his bare chest. Somehow he feels hot and cold at the same time; his heart beats heavily in his chest.

It's hard to breathe.

The bright green glow from the clock across the room is impossible to miss in the pitch black darkness of his room. It's two in the morning and Ace doubts that he'll be able to go back to sleep; there's no point in trying. Everything from his arm down to his fingers shake as he moves his hand to brush the bangs out of his eyes in a bad attempt to calm himself down.

Lying back down would be pointless.

He swings his legs over the side of the bed and leave his room in nothing more than a pair of pajama bottoms on; he never slept while being fully dressed. Hell, he didn't even like being fully dressed in the morning.

There's a light on in the kitchen already; the smell of landward tea lures him in, it's often something Sabo would make for him whenever he couldn't go back to sleep.

Surly enough; there are three cups on top of the kitchen table. Ace counts two cups of tea, and one cup of warm milk.

Sabo's tired blue eyes gaze wistfully at Ace as he pulls up the chair across the table from him. He doesn't dare look at the empty seat with the cup full of milk in the middle. Sabo doesn't look at it either. "You couldn't sleep either, huh?"

"No," He shakes his head and rests his elbows on the table; both of his hands press against the sides of his sore neck. "Has it really been six years already?"

The blond nods; his eyes are focused on a small smudge on the table. The steam from his tea does little to warm him; he reaches for it, and takes a sip. "She shut herself away from us six years ago today. No more calls or letters or pictures that she used to send in the mail, everything just stopped."

"It's because I left her behind." He runs his hands through his hair and focuses his gaze on the table. "I couldn't even wake her up because I knew that I couldn't tell her that I was leaving, I would've fought to stay even harder."

"We both left her Ace."

After Luffy cut herself out the two of them had nothing more than the orphanage director to give them updates on their self proclaimed sister. It was shocking to hear that she was getting into fights all of the time, shutting herself out from the adults, and constantly getting into trouble.

She refused to talk to them; to hear them out, or to just speak to them over the phone. She liked to run away every time they called; all they ever got to hear were the caretakers calling after her, and then?

Silence.

Sabo was fifteen when he meandered his mother into visiting the orphanage; but she wasn't there. The caretaker had smiled and greeted Sabo with a hug, only to then tell him that Luffy was gone.

She was lone gone, but she wasn't adopted.

They had thought it would be a good idea to move her into a foster care system; but by then she'd already been through three homes, and was moving onto her fourth.

She still hasn't been adopted.

Their little sister was being passed around through a system that threatened to destroy her, while her two big brothers managed to receive forever homes.

If that wasn't bad enough; the family that was supposed to be caring about her had lost her, and she was just gone.

Gone; their twelve year old sister had run away and it doesn't seem as though she'll ever be found. If she's even alive anymore in the first place.

To this day, it's been four years since she went missing.

There's an article from a newspaper dated back four years; it's got her face on it. Luffy looks to be about nine years old; meaning that it was before the boys were adopted ahead of her.

She's got a big toothy smile on her face; her hair was braided neatly by Ace's clumsy hands, and her eyes sparkle brilliantly as she stares into the camera.

It's a good picture, but it would've been better in a frame instead of in the newspaper.

"Warm milk, huh?" Ace hums, changing the subject. "I wonder if she still hates tea."

Sabo looks fondly at the red cup. "I wonder if she still drinks milk and honey at night when she can't sleep."

"I wonder if she still likes to pretend that it's tea."

There's silence between the two boys for a long second.

Ace looks up.

"Do you think she's happy, wherever she is?"

"I hope so."

...

"Good morning!"

Luffy greets the couple working in the diner; it's her favorite place to go after a workout. The food is cheap and it's never too crowded; the owners know her by name and greet her with two smiles and offer her the usual booth she sits in.

The one right by the front, but also by the window.

She bounces in her chair for a moment and makes sure to thank the waiter as she's brought a large glass of water with no ice, and a crazy straw to drink it with.

No one brings her a menu; but she's quite used to it.

"Surprise me!" She likes to say to them; asking for at least two different meals from the menu, as well as a desert.

They bring her a plate full of pancakes and waffles, a fruit bowl, two omelettes, and a chocolate fudge sundae with a brownie. Her stomach rumbles at the large proportions of food; the cook says that she's his favorite customer, so he's always sneaking more food onto her plate.

Not that Luffy had anything to complain about.

She was hungry; food was food, the more food she had the less hungry she was. Things just worked like that.

"You're not very ladylike, are you?"

"Shouldn't you be in school or something?"

Luffy manages to shove one more spoonful of ice cream into her mouth before swallowing it all down, and turning to face the man attempting to talk to her. She doesn't look happy with the fact that her meal has been interrupted, and she intends to make sure he knows that too.

"I'm home schooled." She responds, not missing a beat.

The man doesn't seem thrown at all from the glare she's sending him; instead of backing off, he sits down across from her and rests an elbow on the table.

She stares at him for a good moment; spoon still hanging from her mouth as she takes in his piercings and bright red hair and she seems to recognize him immediately.

The spoon drops out of her mouth. "Kidd!"

The smile on his face looks more like a smirk; he's got two snakebites on his bottom lip that weren't there the last time she saw him. "Long time no see, brat. Glad to see you haven't changed a bit."

"It's been like a week." She cocks her head to the side as though he were a child that needed to be corrected. "I think it takes longer to change."

Kidd deadpans. "It's been nine months."

"Oh really?" She frowns. "Are you sure?"

"Do you understand how time works?"

"It doesn't work, it passes."

The two of them stare at each other for a long moment before they break out in laughter; their heads are thrown back and Kidd reaches across the table to put a massive hand atop her head. "It's good to seeya kid."

"Are you moving back in?"

"Of course, I've got a shop waiting for me anyway." He pauses, eyes flickering around Luffy's body in attempt find any visible tattoos. "Who else is going to make sure idiots like you get proper tattoos and piercings?"

She sticks her tongue out at him in a 'bleh' motion, but she's grateful for his return nonetheless.

"Are you still fighting?"

Her head snaps to the side and her eyes stare up at the ceiling; there's a crack running down the wall, and one of the lights is a bit dimmer than the others. "No," She lies, pursing her lips slightly.

"You're such a shitty liar."

"Thanks!"

"It wasn't a compliment."

Though to be honest, it just goes to show how honest of a person Luffy is. In itself, that's a compliment. Kidd gives a defeated sigh as he stands from the table, leaving a small sum of cash to pay the bill and then some. "Make sure you stop by my shop sometime, got it?"

"Yup," She bobs her head up and down, leaning back in her seat as she watches him go. "See you."

He's gone.

Luffy leaves shortly after.

..

Ale is seriously the best thing in the world.

At least Zoro thinks so.

He slams his empty glass on the counter and wipes his mouth with gusto; there are five, six, seven empty glasses left on the counter in front of him.

"Gimme another!" He calls out to the bartender; the man already has his glass prepared, and is quick to slide it across the counter. Zoro catches it with ease. "Thanks, Silvers."

"You sure know how to take it, kid. That's your eighth glass."

Zoro leans back in his seat; his shoulders are slumped, his whole body is relaxed. "Of course, I though you knew that already."

"You always surprise me, kid." The man pauses; it's a Sunday night, the bar is practically empty. Zoro himself doens't visit very often; but the lacking crowd is pleasing to him, so he tries to come on the least crowded days. "It's good to have you around."

"It's good to be around."

"Where's the rest of the crowd today?"

The green haired man shrugs; a sly smirk stretches across his face, his white teeth shine brighter than his golden percings. "It's Sunday night. They're at the Bartie."

"They've got everything there, don't they? Good food, good music, good wine."

"Nah." Zoro cares to disagree. "The best place has good food, good music, and good ale. Wine can't even compete with a cold cup of ale."

The silver haired man laughs; it's deep and hearty and loud enough to rattle the glasses. "I guess you've got a point there, but that place is too stuck up for me."

"You've got a pretty fair point there as well." Zoro nods, resting his elbows on the table. "I'm sure it wouldn't be so special if they didn't have Sanji's cooking or Brooke's music."

Again, the man seems to agree. "Didn't Robin start working there too? I'm sure she fits right in there; in a good way, of course."

"Yeah," Robin does a lot of things; she helps Luffy with her homeschooling whenever she can, teaches kids about history the libary on the weekends, has a part time job at the children's museum, and preforms at the Bartie Sunday nights. "To this day I still don't know how she manages to be in so many places at once."

Silvers grins, it's not a surprise. "Perhasp her love for mysteries has made her a mystery herself."

"I couldn't say it better myself."

"Yoouu know wha's a myssery?" There's a blond haired man who's been lying face down on the counter for the past half hour; Zoro has been ignoring him the whole time, but he seems to be awake for the most part.

Zoro raises an eyebrow, and exchances a quick glance with Silvers. "I'll bite," He finally says, shifting his weight on his side to get a better look at the blond; he looks as though he's had one too many shots of vodka or whatever it is that he's drinking.

He takes two sniffs.

Tequila? "Well, what is it?"

The blond grins; it's lopsided and somehow he doesn't seem to be completely in control of his actions. His head sways and his pupils remain unfocused; Zoro can't tell if he's looking at him or looking past him, or if this kid is even seeing anything at all. "Giraffes."

"Giraffes?"

"Yknoow, the things with the looooonggg necks."

There's a deadpan expression on Zoro's face; he wonders if this poor guy is okay, because he sure as hell doesn't seem like it. "I know what a giraffe is."

"What's so mysterious about giraffes?" Silvers asks, his own amusement luring him into the conversation. "

"That's what I thought too," The lopsided grin on his face shifts. "but juss think about it for a second."

The blond reaches for an empty glass and hands it to the blurry figure as though he were asking for another drink; Silvers gives him back a cup of water with a lime in it.

The poor kid doesn't even know the difference.

He throws his head back as he downs the water; only to then slump over the counter and remain there for a good five or six minutes.

For a moment it seems as though he's asleep.

Or unconcious.

Then he looks up from his folded arms and stares right at them. "Still don't get it?"

"No, what is it?"

"Their necks."

"Their necks?"

"Their necks." The kid repeats, dead serious. "Think about it, just think. If a giraffe wore a necktie; would it be on the bottom of their necks, or the top?

"What?"

"It's a mystery! If you saw a giraffe wearing a necktie at the top of it's neck, how do you know if it's right or wrong?"

Silvers takes this moment to carefully and slowly dismiss himself from the conversation.

Zoro stares straight at the blonde and decides to change the subject all together. "Buddy, are you here by yourself?"

"Aren't we all?" That's depressing.

His eyes roll and his head drops; he's asleep again, but this time Zoro's not too sure he's waking up again anytime soon.

"Just my luck." Zoro swears.

Silvers just laughs.

...

"I'm not coming home tonight."

Ace rolls his eyes at the text on his phone; somehow he feels impatient, angry, and annoyed all at once.

Sabo was supposed to be the smart one, after all.

"And you say I do stupid shit."

...

* * *

 **A/N: Hey. Leave your thoughts? .w.)**

 **Q:** Who's Silvers/Where is Zoro at? **A: '** Silvers' = Silvers Ragleih, he and his wife Shakky run the bar.

~ _ **CrimsonBlood**_


	5. Chapter 5

**Title: Run Away  
Genre:** Hurt/comfort/Family **  
Characters:** Ace, Sabo, Luffy, Zoro etc.  
 **Summary** : Luffy never wanted to run, but she does it anyway.  
 **Author:** The Dark Crimson Blood

 **Count: 2,493  
**

* * *

Luffy had been hoping for a somewhat normal day.

The fact that her estranged brother was sleeping on the couch in her apartment was enough to tell her that today, was going to be anything but normal. He's still knocked out; limbs dangling over the edge and sprawled out anywhere they could reach.

There's a blanket thrown hastily over his body and he cuddles a pillow so tightly to his chest that Luffy doubts she'll be able to get it from him, not that she wants to though. Right now all she wants to do is stay as far away from him as possible.

But first?

Breakfast.

She had another fight today after all; starting the day on an empty stomach was never a good idea. She silently makes her way into the kitchen; her footsteps are light against the cold wood ground, barely tapping as she moves around.

There's a note on the fridge.

"Hey, found some kid drunk out of his mind at the bar and didn't know what else to do with him. I won't be home until late, so make sure he gets home." T here aren't enough words in the human language to explain how much Luffy doesn't want to deal with this situation.

All she has to do is kick him out when he wakes up then, right?

Right.

She nods in affirmation and throws the note in the trash; choosing a simple breakfast of eight scrambled eggs mixed with sauted spinach and a tablespoon of sugar, a simple breakfast Sanji had taught her to make. Who knew eggs tasted so much better with sugar?

Luffy drinks juice with breakfast.

It doesn't take her long to finish eating.

By the time she's done with her food and the dishes have been washed, the blond haired man on her couch still hasn't budged. If she's lucky then maybe he'll sleep long enough for her to change and get the hell out, but luck was never really on her side.

Bright blue eyes connect with brown ones just as the she's making her way across the room to leave; he stares at her for a good second, still sleep ridden and vision still blurry.

HIs head lulls to the side. "Luffy?" He asks.

Luffy stiffens. "It's Lucy."

He shakes his head as though attempting to wake up; his eyes are slightly pink and there's a good chance that he's hungover. The raven gestures to the bottle of gatorade she'd left on the table in case he woke up to an empty apartment. "That's yours, it should help a little bit."

"Thanks," The blonde mumbles as he presses two fingers into his temple; the beverage is cool in his hands, and just what his dry mouth needs. He downs it as quickly as possible, Luffy watches and takes a small step to teh door.

It wasn't as though she hated her brother.

No, she could never hate either of them.

Perhaps upset was a better word for it.

They left her behind and took her out of their lives, and she intended to keep it that way. There was no reason for them to ever come back; she's survived without them for nearly seven years now! She's got friends and family and she's happy.

She's happy without them.

"Zoro left for work. He won't be back until later; it's not good stay out drinking all the time, you know?"

The blond, Sabo, manages to pull himself up slowly enough to prevent his headache from getting worse. He looks like shit; pale with bags underneath his eyes, Luffy doesn't even mention his hair. "I didn't mean to drink that much... Nor do I make a habit of staying out late."

"Then why did you this time?"

He doesn't answer her question completely. "Personnel reasons." He pauses; eyebrows furrowing as he looks around the room and then meets her gaze again. "You live here alone with that guy?"

"Zoro? Yeah. We're roommates."

Somehow it doesn't sit right with him that this sixteen year old girl is living alone with an older boy. "Where are your parents?"

She shrugs. "I'm heading out but you're free to eat whatevers in the fridge and get a shower or something before you go, if Zoro brought you home then I'm sure he trusts you not to steal anything."

There's not really anything worth stealing in the apartment anyway.

Nothing that he can find easily, that is.

"You should take better care of yourself; you've probably got a lot of people worried about you right now. It's not good to scare them like this."

She's one to talk.

Sabo stares right at her because she's dressed up to fight again; sports bra, gloves, shorts, elbow pads, knee pads, and an unzipped jacket that looks to be a couple sizes too big. "You're going to fight again?"

"Yeah." She zips up her jacket in one smooth motion.

He pushes himself to his feet. "It's not so safe to be getting into fights all the time, is it? You might get seriously hurt one of these days; isn't there something better you could be doing?."

Luffy looks pissed. "You... Are the last person I need advice from."

"Lucy," He breathes; the name is strange on his tongue, and a pit of despair seems to plant itself inside of him when the small raven glares at him. Any hospitatality she was showing before is long gone; even her gaze is cold. "I just..."

"Please leave before I get back."

The door doesn't slam as she leaves; instead it shuts softly, and angry footsteps get further and further away until...

Silence.

Sabo doesn't understand why it hurts so much.

 **oOo**

Ace is out an about on his own when he catches the end of Luffy's fight.

She's got this guy pinned on the ground; much like the first fight he witnessed, but it's clear that she had to put in a lot more effort than before. Ace watches him kick and struggle and finally break out of her grip; she jumps away, holding her wrist as though it was hurt.

Her body hunches over for a brief moment; it's clear that she's tired. The fight must've been going on for awhile but the crowd is still on their toes; eager to find out who the victor will be. The man stands tall and proud despite his injuries; his nose is broken and his lip is busted, it a wonder how he's still standing.

He's off balance; dizzy from one too many strikes to the head.

'Lucy' herself seems to be worse for wear; there's a dark red mark on the left side of her body that will probably turn purple tomorrow. Her eyes are calm and focused; but her body is covered in new bruises and scratches.

She wipes her bloody lip with her arm and doesn't care to look down; she straightnes herself out, and in one swift motion she lunges forward.

He raises his fists and leans back defensively; ready to counter attack depending on her actions, but she throws him off guard.

His long leg comes down to sweep her off of her feet; but she jumps. There's a smile on her face as she looks down on him in mid air, right hand reared back and ready to shoot forward.

He looks horrified and surprised all at once.

It seems like forever before her fist finally makes its way to his face and knocks a couple of teeth into the back of his throat; he tries desperately to stay on his feet, only to fail and fall to the ground.

'Lucy' is the only one standing.

The crowd goes wild.

"Winner! StrawHat Lucy!"

She sways as she stands, and smiles as she shoots a thumbs up to someone in the crowd. Ace squints, but it's too hard to pin point the exact person she's looking at with so many faces in the crowd.

Ace has his own small smile; it's mainly out of relief. The people she keeps trying to fight are grown men; if she keeps going like this then one day she might just get herself killed.

Her moment of glory doesn't last any longer before she's knocked down from behind, shoved into the ground, and held at knife point.

Ace screams in horror as the knife burries itself inside her shoulder.

"LUFFY!"

He's pushing and shoving people just to get to the very front of the crowd; using enough force to leave bruises until finally he gets there.

By then she's already knocked the guy out with one switf jab to the punch; he's lying on the ground unconcious, with a nose that is much more broken than it was before.

She looks very unamused as she reaches for the knife to pull it out; blood drips down her bare shoulder, staining it in a way that Ace didn't like to look at. "Luffy," He breathes; the wrong name exits his mouth again and he's not sure why he keeps saying it.

"I'll take you to a doctor, okay? So, so don't just pull it out."

Her eyes narrow as they shift towards him; clearly upset by the fact that he keeps using the wrong name when talking to her.

He's not sure why it seems so right to call this random girl on the street by the name of his deceased or missing little sister, but he does. Twice. She's not a fan of it. "It's 'Lucy' not 'Luffy."

She pulls the knife right out of her shoulder and drops the offensive, bloody object to the ground. The metal clangs off the ground and a young boy around Luffy's age approaches with a gauze; he hands it to her and simply tells her to put pressure on it.

Luffy looks up at the slightly taller boy. "Where's Kaya?"

"She's collecting your prize money." He gestures over towards the crowd that was slowly disapating; the betting was over and the fight has ended, there was nothingleft to see. There was no reason fo them to stay. "Are you okay to make it home by yourself?"

Ace wants to say 'no,' absolutely not, but Luffy nods as thought nothing is wrong. "Yeah, I'm fine." She reaches for the zip up jacket her friend had been holding for her and easily slings it around her shoulders; it covers up all the wounds and bruises on her midsection. "Thanks Usopp."

The kid nods and dismisses himself.

Suddenly it's just Ace and Luffy.

"Look, your hurt, I'm not going to leave you alone until you get some help."

Luffy doesn't want his help. "I'm fine."

"You're not fine."

It's hard not to roll her eyes but somehow she manages; moving a bit further apart from Ace as though she didn't want to be near him. "I don't like Hospitals."

"Then I won't drag you to the hospital; if it's just on your shoulder then I can stitch you up. Just come with me, okay?"

Somehow it seemed as though he wouldn't leave her alone even if she said no.

"I'll leave you alone after, I promise."

Somehow it felt as though he was making another promise that he wasn't going to keep.

Luffy falls for it anyway

...

...

"Can you stop calling me Luffy?"

He's done it five more times ever since they arrived at his apartment; it's big and clean and expensive looking, but none of that matters to Luffy. Right now she in the danger zone; far too close to the very thing she's been trying to avoid. This was a bad idea and she knows it, but there's no going back now.

He looks up after finishing the last stitch; his gloved hands are bloody just like her abandanoed jacket. He slides them off and drops them into the trash. "Yeah, sorry, you..., You just make me think about my little sister."

Luffy's offically screwed. "Oh, okay."

"Her name was Luffy." He says, as thought it wasn't obvious enough. "She ran away from her foster family a couple years ago, but we're still looking for her."

Again, Luffy's not sure what to say. "How am I like your little sister?"

Luffy doesn't wince in the slightest as Ace washes her wound, dries it, and sanitizes it as though he's done it millions of times before. "I don't know really; it's just a feeling." He laughs a bit; it's short an brief and a bit hollow.

She doesn't laugh with him.

"Luffy wanted to be a fighter in a world full of princesses." Luffy does her best not to flinch and pull her arm back when he takes it, carefully placing a gauze over her stitched wound. "Sabo used to say that one of us needed to become a docotor so we could look after her properly.

"Is that why you're good at fixing wounds?"

He nods. "I suppose so; but neither of us are planning on becoming doctors. We just learned the basics."

"Thank you." She takes her bandaged arm away from him and lets it drop to her side; he stands and shuffles through his drawers for a moment to find a shirt for her to borrow.

The idea of her walking home in a sports bra wasn't something Ace thought was a good idea; injury or not. "It's Sabo's and he doesn't wear it, ever, so just keep it okay?"

She doesn't bother fighting with him about it; her heart beats a bit faster as she slides it over her head and lets it drop down. It stops just above the ends of her shorts, and even falls off her shoulders a bit. "I... I'm going home now."

Ace watches her until she leaves.

Somehow, it felt as though everything is going to be okay.

It's a good feeling.

* * *

 **Everything is not okay.**

* * *

 **A/N: I'm going to send the last chapter to reviewers via PM, it will be posted normally awhile later.**

 **Q: Why didn't they say goodbye? A: Sabo did, and Ace was afraid to.**

 **Leave a note?**

~ _ **CrimsonBlood**_


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